Mini Berry Pies – Celebrating the 4th of July

July 1, 2010

My Martha Stewart Magazine arrived and I was overwhelmed by the cover. I instantly knew I had to replicate the pies that graced the cover. The next morning I hit the farmers market, bright and early. Along with the usual suspects, I bought pounds and pounds of all kinds of berries. Mini berry pies were on the agenda and because of the bushels of berries, I set out to make a huge batch of my favorite pie dough.

I toyed with the idea of creating my own pate brisee. I am reading Ratio by Michael Ruhlman. I am learning the ratios for basic cookie batters, muffins, biscuits, pie doughs, cakes, etc. And as much as I wanted to experiment, I opted to just go with Martha’s pie crusts. It was perfectly delicious, easy to work with, not too sweet and flaky. This dough is a winner.

I split up the 7 1/2 cups of berries to make the following combos: blueberry/blackberry, raspberry/strawberry and cherry. I made half the amount of each blueberry/blackberry + raspberry/strawberry and cut down on the sugar just a tad. For the cherry pies, I made about a 1/3 of the recipe and I cut the cherries in half. All worked out perfectly and tasted great!

instructions:
• preheat oven to 375*for the pate brisee:
• pulse the flour, salt + sugar in a food processor until combined. add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• drizzle, water slowly, into food processor as you pulse. You just want the mixture to come together. This dough should not be sticky. I used less water than called for as I always wind up with wet dough. Press the dough into one large disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
• roll out dough, 1/8″ thickness. I used a slightly smaller mini pie tin than the recipe called for ( 5″), instead I used a 4″. Press the dough into your pie tins and crimp the tops. Put in the fridge while you mix the berries.
• with the remaining dough cut out the shapes for the tops. I used a star cut out and a pastry wheel to create the “stripes”. set these on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• mix egg yolks and cream in a small bowl. brush your decorative accents with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sanding sugar. set in the freezer until ready to use.for the berries:
• I used separate bowls for each berry mixture. Mix berries or fruit with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Fill pie shells with berry mixture.assembly:
• brush the edges of the individual pies with the egg wash. place decorative crusts over pies and pinch the edges of the crust with the stars and stripes.
• bake until juices start to bubble and the tops are golden. about 40-45 minutes. if the tops start to burn, tent pies with foil and continue baking until done.
• let cool before serving.
• pies can rest at room temp over night. however, my boys like them cold, right out of the fridge!

We had the great good fortune to sample two of Susan’s pies: one blueberry and one strawberry/raspberry. Both were delicious. The crust was just right and the berries had good flavor. The men in the house preferred the red pie, and the women preferred the blue pie. Go figure. I have no idea why. The red was a little more tart, I think. Perfect 4th of July treats. Thanks for sharing, Susan! Love, the “G’s”

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I'm a native LA girl, photographer, storyteller and food lover. I LOVE chocolate, lilies, Donna Hay magazine, and my boys. I dislike errands, mayo and mushrooms. This blog is a collection of stories, family traditions and how food nourishes our soul. Read More